Thomas g



(No Model.)

T. G. BENNETT. RECOIL LOCKING BAR FOR BOLT GUNS.

No. 537,598. Patented Apr. 16, 1895.

4 l l F I l I I I IIIIIIII.

lNVENTOl? WITNESSES:

A TTOHNEY.

UNITED STATES PATENT 'FFICE.

THOMAS Gr. BENNETT, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THETVINCHESTER REPEATING ARMS COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

RECOIL LOCKING-BAR FOR BOLT-GUNS.

SLPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 537,598, dated April16, 189 5.

Application filed November 24, 1894. Serial No. 529,826. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, THOMAS G. BENNETT, of New Haven, Connecticut, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Breech-Loading Firearms, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My improvement relates to that class of breech-loading firearms in whichthe breech is opened and closed by a bolt, reciprocating in line withthe barrel of the arm; and it consists in the construction of thelocking bar A A, and the combination and arrangement of the partshereinafter particularly described.

Figurel in the drawings is a side view of a breech mechanism embodyingmy invention, one side of the receiver being removed so as to show themechanism. Fig. 2 is a top View of the breech bolt and receiver showingthe relation of the locking bar thereto. Fig. 3 is a detailed view,showing the swinging locking-bar and fulcrum. Fig. 4 is a perspectiveview of the same device.

The parts are lettered alike in each of these figures.

A A Ais a swinging locking-bar, pivoted at B, and preferably bifurcated,as shown in Fig. 2 at A A, so as to straddle the breech bolt.

C C is the breech bolt, supported in guides, and having insets orshoulders c c, behind which the locking-bar swings, as shown in Fig. 2,when the breech is closed.

D D D is the guard lever, pivoted to the breech bolt at d, andarticulated with the swinging locking-bar at g by means of a slot andpin connection.

Therest of the breech mechanism may be of the ordinary construction.

The operation of the mechanism is as follows: Assuming the breech to beclosed, the operation of opening it comprises the following movements:The downward movement of the handle of the guard lever operates first toswing the locking-bar A downward on its pivot B, the breech bolt beingincapable of backward movement until the engagement of the locking-barbehind its shoulders c c is released. In this movement the guard leveroperates as a lever of the second order, so-

called. The slotted connection between the guard lever and locking barallows for a limited movement of this character sufficient to withdrawthe locking-bar from behind the should ers c c. When the locking-bar iswholly swung out of the path of the breech bolt, and the limit of loosemotion allowed by the slot g is reached, the farther downward movementof the guard lever at the .point g is checked, and the point 9 becomesthe pivot or fulcrum of the guard lever, which then assumes thecharacter of a lever of the first order and forces the breech boltbackward.

I am aware that the combination, in the breech loading firearm, of aguard lever hinged by a slotted connection to a swinging fulcrum and toa reciprocating breech bolt. with a sliding locking-bar also hinged tothe swinging fulcrum, and sliding in guides formed in the receiver, hasbeen proposed; but such a combination is not only more complicated thanthat which I have described, in respect to the number of its parts,butis also mechanically different in at least two respects, first, inthat the locking-bar of prior constructions has a sliding, and not aswinging, movement; and, second, that such a lock ing-bar has nocapacity in itself of resisting the recoil of the breech bolt, becauseit swivels easily upon its connection with the swinging fulcrum, and forthis reason requires to be backed up in its turn by guides and stopsformed in the receiver, to control its motion and to prevent it fromyielding to the recoil of explosion. My locking-bar, on the other hand,is rigid, because formed in one piece with the swinging fulcrum. Itsmotion is definite and fixed, independent of any guides, and it resiststhe recoil of the breech bolt by transmitting the strain forward to thefulcrum B, without support from behind, although such support may beprovided, if desired, in the manner indicated in Fig. 2.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In a breech-loading firearm, the combination of parts for locking andunlocking the breech mechanism, which consists of the re- 1 behind theshoulders c a when the breech is ciprocating breech bolt 0, providedwith inclosed; all substantially as shown and desets or shoulders c c,guard lever D pivoted scribed.

thereto, and swinging locking-bar A pivoted THOMAS G. BENNETT. to theframe of the arm, loosely articulated Vitnesses:

with the guard lever, and provided with a DANIEL H. VEADER,

rigid arm extending upward so as to swing 1 WILLIAM S. BALDWIN.

